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Students using Google software in the classroom will not be allowed to access the company’s search engine unless their school system also opts in to artificial intelligence tools<\/a>, the tech giant said Tuesday. <\/p>\n The Mountain View, California, company<\/a> has been facing pushback from educators, child development experts and parents over the use of its technology in schools, with the backlash heating up since it announced in August that it had turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students who use Google Classroom. <\/p>\n On Tuesday, the company said that practice would no longer be the default option for school administrators and that opting out of AI tools<\/a> would also mean losing access to Google search. <\/p>\n Access to Google’s AI features \u2014 Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Gemini in Classroom \u2014 as well as Google search will be automatically turned off for K-12 student accounts until \u201cschool administrators explicitly turn them on,\u201d Chris Phillips, Google\u2019s vice president and general manager of education, said in a blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach,\u201d Phillips wrote.<\/p>\n Google is by far the dominant provider of education technology for U.S. schools. Worldwide, the company says 150 million students and teachers use its Google Classroom platform and many students use school-provided Chromebook computers. <\/p>\n Google faced an outcry in August when it switched on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 students. Until August, Google had only allowed Gemini to be turned on for students 18 or older.<\/p>\n Tuesday’s announcement was met with swift criticism from educators and policymakers.<\/p>\n \u201cGoogle is using its search monopoly to coerce schools into adopting AI. This highlights the danger of allowing an unregulated monopolist to control an essential service,\u201d wrote Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, on social media. \u201cAs the public increasingly pushes back against the use of AI in schools, Google is making clear it will punish those who don\u2019t fall in line.\u201d <\/p>\n Messages seeking additional comment from Google were left on Tuesday.<\/p>\n New York City and Los Angeles, home to the nation’s biggest school districts, have issued temporary bans<\/a> on generative AI tools in elementary and middle schools as they assess AI use and safety and develop policies on its use. <\/p>\n Many students already use AI to help with school and homework, but the technology has also made it easier to cheat and find quick, easy answers to questions instead of thinking critically. And experts have raised questions about how access to AI is affecting children\u2019s brain development<\/a>. <\/p>\n Josh Golin, executive director of children’s advocacy group Fairplay, said Google’s attempt to \u201cstrong-arm schools into using its AI products is likely to backfire.\u201d He said Google’s technology in schools is not about learning but about \u201cdeveloping lifetime brand loyalty\u201d for its products. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause AI isn\u2019t safe for kids and undermines education and critical thinking, schools should turn off Google\u2019s AI tools the minute that option becomes available,” Golin said in a statement.<\/p>\n Rather than fret about losing access to search, Golin urged schools to turn off not just AI but also Google, and “use this opportunity to help students find more privacy-protective alternatives for search, as well as ways to do more substantive research beyond search and click.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n